Birds before Flowers
by SalamanderLights
Summary: ONESHOT. "Am I like a flower to you? You look at me but there's never acknowledgement." Written for Twin Exchange Monthly Challenge – April 2012.


**_Twin Exchange Monthly Challenge – April 2012_**

**Prompts used: **

Bird bath

Flowers

**Pairing:**

Hermione/Fred

**Quotes used:**

"That's not what she said."

"Who understands these things?"

**Theme:**

Spring

Disclaimer - JK owns all.

The sky was clear. Flowers were blooming. Animals were playing. A light breeze was blowing through the willow tree, its leaves fluttering and whipping around as though dancing to the symphony of birdsong that could be heard.

Yes, Hermione Granger loved spring.

"Who understands these things?" she whispered to the warm air around her. "How the plants grow anew each year. How the animals know on instinct the best places to frolic and nest. How they understand the seasons..."

Spring was even better at The Burrow, where wildlife was in abundance. Currently she was in the garden of the rowdy household, perched on a bench ten feet from the stone bird bath. Growing up she had always liked to watch the birds wash themselves.

Great, now she sounded like a creep. A voyeur.

Directing her thoughts back to the birds, she watched as the blue one and the green one all but frolicked in the two inch deep water. They looked as though they were paddling.

"Spying on our wildlife now, Granger?"

She whipped around. Fred. Of course it was. And what on earth was he holding?

"Just enjoying nature, I assure you" she replied, turning back to face the garden with a blush gracing her features. All sorts of flowers were blooming around her; pollen hung heavy in the air. Thank Merlin she didn't suffer hay fever.

Fred sat down beside her on the bench; hands still clasped tightly together, embracing who knew what in them. They sat in silence for ten minutes, observing their peaceful surroundings. A short while later Fred found himself trying, and failing, to obtain the curly haired girls attention.

"Earth to Hermione" he called, snapping his fingers in front of her face. She jumped as she was all but yanked out of her reverie. "Am I like a flower to you? You look at me but there's never acknowledgement."

"What?" she spluttered. "I do pay attention to the flowers! What did you think I was looking at?"

"Harold and Alistair."

"Who on _earth_ are they?"

Instead of replying with words, Fred merely pointed to the bird bath where the two birds continued to play. Yeah, she _might_ have been watching them.

"The birds" Hermione sighed. "Of course you've named them. Are you sure they're even male?"

"That's what she said" the red head chuckled, mirth glinting in his eyes and momentarily overriding the mischief that was _always_ visible within the ocean blue depths.

"That's _not_ what she said" she replied through gritted teeth. "Never before have I had to enquire the gender of _anyone_. Human or animal. And I never intend to."

"Your time will come" he whispered conspiratorially before changing the topic to what she was internally dying to know; what was in his hands. "Want to know what I'm holding?"

"I thought you'd never ask."

"Again, that's what she said" he grinned, but at her scathing look he turned serious again. "Recently, I and my beloved twin brother have been adjusting our Canary Creams. Instead of life size canaries, we can now have people turn into _actual_ size canaries."

"You what?" she blurted out. "You've been carry a _person_ in your hands since you came out here?"

"Might've done" he grinned sheepishly. "Although judging by how the focus of your attention has been on the bird bath and not the flora, I realise now I should have turned him into a flower and not a bird."

"Who is it?" she asked softly.

"May I present to you" Fred said dramatically, moving over to the bird bath. "Ron!"

Hermione watched in shock as he opened his hands to reveal a bright red and angry canary. It hopped around in the water in a more amusing fashion than threatening before resorting to sulking on the edge of the stone basin. Ron was undoubtedly waiting for the effects of this latest prank to wear off before he attacked his brother. He couldn't do more than peck Fred to death in this state.

"Fred Weasley, will there ever be a day you don't prank anybody?" Hermione sighed. She was used to the mayhem by now, everyone was. She didn't even feel sorry for Ron; it would stop him leering at her for a little while. She _really_ wasn't interested in him that way. "And why do you wish you had turned him into a flower instead?"

Fred blushed and he knew it. He never blushed. But this girl, he'll be damned. "You pay less attention to flowers than birds, and I'll be honest when I say I'd turn myself into a bird any day if it would gain your attention…"

"You do gain my attention" she whispered "more than you'd know."

"I do?" he asked, a grin lighting up his face as he moved back to the bench. "Do I have enough of your attention that_ if_ I were to present you with a bouquet of flowers, you'd actually acknowledge them?"

"Oh, that might be a stretch" she smirked. "But I'm sure I can change my flower overlooking ways for you."


End file.
